What's the scoop on Sandberg?

[AlexanderB]

I have seen and played a number over the years. Never seen a Sandberg that was not at least "very good", objectively. Straight necks, well done finishes, neat machining and fitting of neck, fretwork correctly done etc. Everyone was AT LEAST like the rare "great Fender" hat you occasionally find, like 1 in 10 or 15.

As the whole bass has better wood and is better assembled, there are less losses mechniacally. That contributes to the brighter tone and the more compressed ADSR. There is much less of a dead spot issue as well.

So, if you like the tone and ergonomics, there is not much risk for getting a "lemon".

(I have no affiliation with Sandberg, but I am getting tired of Fender's inability to produce consistent, well made instruments.)

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I just want to add to my previous post that after I changed the pots to 250k I love my Sandberg (passive with Kloppmann PB63 P-bass pickup). It's one of my favourite basses.

I always fear my posts about Sandberg may come across as a bit negative. I don't really mean to be negative. Sandberg make EXCELLENT instruments but I've seen far too many bass players buy a Sandberg and end up disappointed when it doesn't sound or feel even remotely like a Fender. I think people need to be made aware that Sandberg basses are completely different to Fenders, even though some of their models may look similar to P/J-basses. Different tone, different "feel". Brighter, tighter, more "modern" and also a far slimmer neck than any Fender I've played. Like I said before,. the neck feels more like Ibanez SR.

You may end up loving a Sandberg but they're not Fenders. Not even close. Better? Worse? I'd say the general craftsmanship is WAY better than Fender. Tone/feel? Purely down to personal taste. I would take a good Fender over a stock Sandberg any day. A custom order passive Sandberg with the pickups of my choice and 250k pots... now that's a different matter and more like the bass Fender SHOULD have made instead of just bringing out the same old stuff in different colors.

 

[Brad Easley]

All the responses have been helpful to me. I think they answered what I need to know to make an informed decision. So thank you!

 

[Z-Bass]

Well, perhaps one more opinion for your consideration. I picked up a TM4 here on TB and it's a stellar instrument. Very high quality. I like that the body shape has it's own thing going on but still retains classic looks. I'm surprised at the "thin neck" comments. Mine is not thin. It's not baseball bat thickness either. It's slightly over the typical 1.5" jazz bass width but has a little more meat front to back than the current Fender models (which is something I was looking for). It's a modern sounding bass but it does so without straying too far from a classic tone footprint. I would agree with some of the comments about the high end. Mine can get a little pingy at times but I believe that can be remedied with other option such as string type, EQ, or worst case a pickup swap. Mine has the big pole ceramic Delano pickups with the Sandberg preamp. I may try an alnico pickup to see what happens there but to be honest it's been a great find and works very well on live gigs.

 

[Pet Sounds]

Well, perhaps one more opinion for your consideration. I picked up a TM4 here on TB and it's a stellar instrument. Very high quality. I like that the body shape has it's own thing going on but still retains classic looks. I'm surprised at the "thin neck" comments. Mine is not thin. It's not baseball bat thickness either. It's slightly over the typical 1.5" jazz bass width but has a little more meat front to back than the current Fender models (which is something I was looking for). It's a modern sounding bass but it does so without straying too far from a classic tone footprint. I would agree with some of the comments about the high end. Mine can get a little pingy at times but I believe that can be remedied with other option such as string type, EQ, or worst case a pickup swap. Mine has the big pole ceramic Delano pickups with the Sandberg preamp. I may try an alnico pickup to see what happens there but to be honest it's been a great find and works very well on live gigs.

All of this reflects my experience with my own TM-4. I usually associate the term "modern" with "sterile," and I don't get that with my Sandburg. Mine can get very round and beefy and almost P-Bass-like when I favor the neck pup, but with good note definition.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

First thing I noticed about mine was great note definition and clarity. She definitely likes warm strings and amplification/ tube DI. It’s modern but not in an overly bright or metallic way. My neck feels nothing like a Fender or Ibanez, maybe a bit between the two. Build quality is top of the line.


I’m smitten and recommend Sandberg and Ernie Ball to anyone seeking the top of the line factory builds.

 

[Jackfunk1964]

I was just about to order a used/mint? Lionel but it's active and I'm not so sure about it now after reading about brightness not being able to be dialed out.I have some Geezers I could put in though.Are the short scales as bright as the others?All the sound clips I've heard sound great,but they have been passive basses.I don't care so much that they don't sound like a Fender but too much high midrange,I don't know how I'd like it.

 

[Nedmundo]

I first tried some Sandbergs at a great shop in Munich in 2017, and I loved the necks on the fives, which reminded me of the neck on my G&L USA M-2500. A few years later, I tried a California TT-5 Superlight at the Philly area guitar show, and I was blown away the by the feel, playability, and incredibly light weight. So, when I found this black/maple TT-5 Superlight at a good price last year, I pounced, and overall it's been great.

IMO, Sandberg's biggest advantages are playability, high quality construction, and, in this case, low weight. They can set up with very low action, and the necks are extremely comfortable, at least to me. I love the 14" radius fretboards. Mine is perfectly built, just like all the others I've tried, and it has a robust six-bolt neck attachment. Even though mine weighs less than seven pounds, it balances fine on a strap.

The tone is nothing spectacular or groundbreaking, but it's fine--typical active/passive, slightly modern J-bass that works for just about everything. The stock single coils sound good, the pre is fairly transparent and useful, and the passive tone control (in passive mode) is great. It must be well-shielded, because I get very little noise and have no problems favoring the neck pickup on stage. I understand that most Sandbergs don't sound much like Fenders, but this one, with its traditional single coils, isn't too far off in passive mode.

Downsides? My main gripe is the flush poles on the pickups. From the factory, the string-to-string balance was way off. The A string got completely buried, and I went through at least three rounds of adjustments before it was acceptable. I had to raise the bass side of the pickups, lower the A string saddle, then lower the pickups overall. If the pickups had raised center poles, this would not have been necessary, and it would have better balance and a little more punch. I also think the bridge is a little fussy to adjust, but the functionality is good.

Overall, it's a great bass and I've been using it exclusively in my current project. In fact, I suspect it will be my main player in general because it's so comfortable and versatile.

 

[TheMartianBassist]

Some Sandberg basses may share the same pickup configuration as vintage Fender basses but the similarities end there.

The neck is much slimmer, even than the slimmest Fender Js. The tone is a LOT brighter than any Fender I've played. More "modern" if you will. With their active basses this brightness can't be dialled out. At least not without ruining the tone completely. The preamp is very bright/clean and the stock pickups are bright.

You can order get a passive Sandberg where you can at least dial out some brightness with the tone control but even then the pickup will be brighter than a vintage Fender and they use 500k pots on their passive basses which will make them brigher still.

Even if you custom order a Sandberg with vintage-style pickups of your own choice it will STILL be brighter than a Fender as the bass will STILL have 500k pots (unless you clearly specify 250k pots which I personally didn't think would be necessary when I had specified a pickup that was clearly a vintage '63 P-bass "reissue").

If you're looking for something even remotely close to a classic Fender P or J you should NOT buy a Sandberg unless you custom order it witn the pickup of your choice and specify 250k pots. Even then the neck will be very different and more similar to Ibanez SR than any Fender I've played.

Placing a custom order with Sandberg can be a very frustrating experience with extremely poor communication, delays and poor excuses. At least it was in my case. Sandberg refuse to talk to their customers so all communication will have to go through dealer > distributor > Sandberg for each email and then the same way back for the reply. Just placing an order and get a confirmation about the specs took several weeks. And they the bass was delayed for several months because Sandberg apparantly ran out of wood (or at least that's what they told be through the distributor > dealer when the bass didn't show up within the delivery time I was originally given.

Having said that, the quality of their basses is excellent but don't expect anything close to a classic Fender tone/feel.

As a massive Sandberg fan and owner of two of their high end models, I can second and confirm every word in this post. Everything Sorrow said is 100% correct.

Sandbergs are not Fenders and with their 2015 body redesign, even less so.
Especially the TT’s - they do NOT sound like Vintage Fender jazz basses.
If anyone interested is aware of this and still digs Sandberg’s more “modern” tone, you’ll be totally satisfied.
Craftsmanship, playability, neck dimensions, simplicity of the 2 band preamp, and for me, coolness factor are top notch.
I own a custom ordered TT5 Masterpiece and a VM5 Hardcore Aged Reserve. They are my absolute favorite and most played basses.

Amazingly enough, and I think mainly do to BassTheWorld’s signature model having the Kloppmann pickups, I had the chance to play a fellow bassists TT5 that he ordered with the JB71 pickups. Bass was custom ordered passive. I recall being absolutely FLOORED at how good it sounded. I’m normally not a fan of passive basses but man.. his bass was .
Buyer beware though, both the JB61’s and JB71’s are true single coils and will have humming issues.

As far as the custom order experience, I can literally copy and paste Sorrow’s paragraph and repeat it.
Communication is horrific and borderline nonexistent. I even remember when I was initially researching Sandberg and was calling around the different dealers regarding a custom order, almost all of them unanimously had the same reaction of - “ooooooooh Sandberg eh? Amazing basses but those guys take forever to build and barely respond..”
Wait time for my TT5 was just over a year and a half.

With all that being said, I will repeat and say, I’m a huge fan.
Sandberg easily outclasses Fender in almost all criteria in my opinion.
If you want something vintage from them, follow Sorrow’s advise and custom order a passive instrument with the pot specification and Kloppmann pickups.

 

[chris_b]

Can someone explain the differences between standard Sandberg Jazz bass pickups and the Delano versions?

I have a TT5 SL and want to beef up the sound, move it closer to the sound of my Sadowsky. . . . a John East preamp is already installed and want to fed it with a better signal.

Many thanks.